A tough pill to swallow.

Success in real estate or any profession takes a lot of hard work and dedication.....the newbies looking for instant success will find out soon enough and will be pursuing other careers with salaries and not straight commission.

Wanda Kubat-Nerdin ~ good morning, Wanda. Part of the problem is that most licensing schools are profit centers so they don't tell "students" the truth about what it takes to make it in this business; they don't want to lose the tuition income. And I've found that most people jump into it without doing enough research.

When I started in the business I was told not to expect to earn a commission for up to six months.... virtually on my sixth month anniversary I earned my first commission check.

Good morning Wanda,

Sales without cash flow would be a hard pill to swallow. It is interesting to sit in on an informational meeting of getting started in real estate of what it takes in different Brokerage's and those just trying to get bodies.

Make yourself a great day.

Starting out in real estate can be a lot more difficult than it was back in the day. There is a whole lot to learn and so many people come in looking for the short cuts.  

Most of the folks that started with me back in 2001 are long gone....it is tough!

Hello Wanda,  You are so right, newbie need to understand that it does not happen over night. 

The failure rate is high for a few reasons...some people are just not cut out for the business, but for those who could do it we lose many of those because of unrealistic expectations.

Wanda,

There is so much more to real estate than just getting your license and mining your sphere of influence and social media.  Funny, how so many newbies are deceived.  A

The statistics don't lie. Most agents don't make it past the two year mark. I actually tell students that I teach that stat and watch their eyes get big! I follow-up with the question of what are they going to do to make sure they aren't a part of that group who fall away in less than two years. 

Way to many people who get into this Profession do so because they see the success we have, but they don't see all the hard work and sacrifice we made.

Wanda, this is a very humbling business and some of those dry spells can be tough to accept

Nice topic, Wanda.... a great reminder to all of us that have dug and stayed in the trenches over the years!!  Every now and then, we must dig new trenches to stay in the competitive market.... it does take time!!

Wanda so so true. Stats show that about 90% of the ones that get their license are not in busines within a year or so. Being a new real estate agent is not easy and it takes a lot of focus, dedication and committment - not to mention top notch business building skills.

Love the pill box!!! Couldn't be truer!

Wanda, if selling real estate were easy the stats would not be what they are.  It takes a lot of work, dedication and staying power to sustain a livelihood in real estate.  I guess it is a good thing I don't take pills ...

Hi Wanda Kubat-Nerdin , We always tell people tha are interested in this profession to have money put away that will take care of them for 6 months to a year, just in case they have a rough start.

When I first became licensed in November 1981, the interest rates were 18 1/2%.  I had uncanny beginner's luck.  My first office had about a dozen longtime, seasoned agents, who took me immediately under their wing.  

On the first day in the office, I put on a gold jacket one of the agents had given me.  At day's end, I stopped by our local grocery store, on the way home.  In the checkout line, the checker, said, "Oh, I didn't know you were in real estate."  Yep, you guessed it, I listed her home a couple days later, and sold her a new house.  It was a cycle of beginner's luck that continued for quite a few years.  

It certainly shouldn't have been that easy, but it was!  I attribute it all to the amazing support I had in that office, from those other agents.

Good morning Wanda.  One doesn't realize just how much goes into the listing, selling, working with buyers and all the paperwork that goes with it until they walk in our shoes.  

Wanda Kubat-Nerdin I was encouraged to keep my part time job when I started and I didn't listen. This was not my 1st commission job, I knew I had to jump in with both feet and work my butt off. Like Myrl Jeffcoat I had almost instant success.

Just an odd note: I'm comment 19 at this time and I'm "following" 17 of those other commenters.